4
Best Visual Effects
This is our penultimate post and how fitting that such a sure thing category is being revealed between two undecided races. Nevertheless, here are our predictions on the Visual Effects category, some facts and favorites.
Trivia: Five Facts
- The first award was given out for Visual Effects alone in 1963 and has been given out every year since then except 1973.
- Dennis Muren is the champion of nominations for Visual Effects having received 15 nominations to date. His nearest competitor is Richard Edlund with 10 followed by John Frazier with 9 and Ken Ralston with 7. For most wins, Muren is again the champ with 8 trophies followed by Ken Ralston with 5, and L.B. Abbott, Richard Edlund and Glen Robinson with three each.
- Stautettes to go out for this category: 158 (not counting the old Special Effects award which combined Sound Effects and Visual Effects).
- Visual Effects was one of the few categories that could have no category in any given year, 2 or 3 nominations, or a single special achievement award. Today, the Visual Effects slate will always contain three nominations. Other than 1973, the category has always been awarded, but eight times it was awarded as a Special Achievement Award (1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1983 and 1990)
- 1976 was the only year on record where two special awards were given for Visual Effects: King Kong and Logan's Run received those prizes.
Predictions
- Avatar (Wesley, Peter, Tripp, Wes)
- District 9 (Wesley, Peter)
- Star Trek (Tripp)
KEY: (Winner Prediction) (Alternate Winner)
The Commentary
Wesley Lovell - Of all the certain outcomes at this year's Oscars (Jeff Bridges, Mo'Nique, Kathryn Bigelow, Christoph Waltz), none is more certain than this award. Avatar is such a breakthrough in 3D technology and advancing the motion capture technology used so superbly in the Lord of the Rings films, that a loss here would be significantly more surprising than The Golden Compass winning the Oscar against Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean 3.
Tripp Burton - Is there any reason for selecting an alternate here? Avatar has the most mind-blowing special effects, and also the most revolutionary. It should win very handily here.
Wes Huizar - There is no alternative.
Our Favorite Winners
KEY:
Appears on Two Lists
Appears on Three Lists
Appears on Four Lists
Appears on Opposing Lists
Wesley Lovell
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (There were no nifty computer effects, just simple movie magic.)
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (The effects in the film are brilliant. There are only a few minor problems here or there, but this shows what can be done when blending existing effects and new effects from Gollum to camera trickery.)
- Titanic (An authentic recreation of a legendary event, making for a gorgeous viewing experience.)
- The Matrix (While many of the effects seem overplayed now, especially when looking at the sequels to the first film, there's something stellar about this work that no measure of future failure can tarnish.)
- Jurassic Park (I was torn whether to include Star Wars or Jurassic Park here. While I think Star Wars was a history-changing effort, there's something to be said for creating something from skeletal frameworks alone. Living breathing creatures that weren't entirely animatronic, but which blended effortlessly in with the environment.)
Peter J. Patrick
- Forrest Gump (seamless blending of fictional characters into newsreel footage )
- Titanic (the sinking of the ship is alone worthy of high placement)
- Mary Poppins (perfectly delightful )
- Spider-Man 2 (high flying superb)
- Star Wars (the much over-used word "awesome" applies here)
Tripp Burton
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Jurassic Park
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
- Star Wars
- The Abyss
For me, the rule for special effects is how well they hold up. The effects work for each of these films is just as impressive as it was the day it was released.
Wes Huizar
- Star Wars
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Jurassic Park
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- The Matrix
Our Least Favorite Winners
KEY:
Appears on Two Lists
Appears on Three Lists
Appears on Four Lists
Appears on Opposing Lists
Wesley Lovell
- What Dreams May Come (Painful graphics that blurred at the most inopportune moments and looked more like some visual effects artist designing from a childhood memory and excluding the present.)
- Gladiator (I am still amazed this film managed to win the award. I can't remember a thing about it that deserved recognition.)
- Forrest Gump (One of the things that always annoyed me about this film was placing a fake figure into historical situations and while I can appreciate some of the detail that went into it, it was still painfully obvious at times and poorly composed at others.)
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (The least impressive of the series, the film's most annoying aspects (such as too many Captain Jack's) were simply that. Not to mention that the only reason the film won was because the original had lost to the LOTR juggernaut.)
As I could only find four winners I objected to in the slightest, here they are.
Peter J. Patrick
- Doctor Dolittle (obvious effects)
- Thunderball (boring effects)
- Death Becomes Her (obvious effects)
- The Abyss (borning effects)
- What Dreams May Come (overkill)
Tripp Burton
- Gladiator
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
- Doctor Dolittle
- Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom
- Spider-Man 2
None of these films were very impressive when they came out, and they are sloppy looking now, except Temple of Doom. I just don't know what great new effects there were there?
Wes Huizar
- What Dreams May Come (Maybe the fact that this movie is in my bottom 10 of all-time makes it difficult to take even its visual effects seriously)
- Babe (I love this movie. I mean, I truly LOVE this movie. But Best Visual Effects for a bunch of talking animals? No way.)
- Doctor Dolittle (It's a stupid movie - the worst ever nominated for Best Picture - and the visual effects were crap)
- Cleopatra (This movie actually beat "The Birds"? Shameful.)
- Gladiator (Probably the biggest head-scratcher in the modern age of visual effects, especially since both "The Perfect Storm" and "Hollow Man" had better effects)
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True Media Concepts
March 4th, 2010 - 22:47
Okay, I must object to the inclusion of What Dreams May Come as a failure of Visual Effects. When this movie came out, it was revolutionary in how it allowed effects to be interactive with it’s world. From the simplest effect, where Robin Williams crushes the flower in his hand and it turns into a ball of paint, to the superbly crafted vistas of heaven and hell on such a grand scale. Even the Visual Effects Society included it on their 50 greatest achievements in visual effects history.
Also appearing on that list is Forrest Gump, which is more than just inserting Tom Hanks into stock footage. There was the removal of Lieutenant Dan’s legs, the Chinese ping pong match, the massive crowd shots, even an early computer generated feather, Forrest Gump pushed boundaries for it’s time in regards to visual effects from big showy moments like the stock footage or removing the legs, to something simple that no one thinks are visual effects.
The only thing that I can defend about Dead Man’s Chest is that the design that went into Davy Jones and his crew were very cutting edge. Sure, they looked cartoony and the movie is a lot more ridiculous the further it dove into mythology, but Dead Man’s Chest’s effects were the most refined and grand scale of the series, especially over the obviously animated skeletons of Curse of the Black Pearl.
Favorite:
1. Star Wars: Let’s face it, there wouldn’t be as much focus on visual effects today if it weren’t for this movie. Everything about it was cutting edge and even today.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey: On the other end of the spectrum of CGI, Wesley is right, these simple, yet mind-blowing effects have just enough of a realistic edge to them to make this futuristic world more believable than the most heavily computerized graphics in today’s movies.
3. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Peter Jackson himself couldn’t have planned it any better, but as each part progressed, each installment pushed the boundaries of effects with each chapter. The effects have yet to be rivaled this decade in terms of how crafted and realized a universe can be on screen (at least, until Avatar wins).
4. Jurassic Park: It was a tough call for me to think of what movie should represent the best in computer effects (Terminator 2, The Abyss), but in the end, the living and breathing dinosaurs of Jurassic Park just win out. Even today, watching Jurassic Park, the effects are still convincing and awe-inspiring.
5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Again, here we have a movie that is over twenty years old and the effects are still both convincing and leave you asking the question that we used to enjoy asking when we were younger and went to the movies: “how’d they do that?” (Back when the answer wasn’t just “Computers”).
Worst
1. Gladiator: Sometimes, a Best Picture sweep doesn’t always equate well. Here’s a prime example. The vista shots of Rome look extremely dated, the coliseum shots are very few and far between, then there’s nothing else. The other two nominees (Hollow Man & The Perfect Storm) are much better choices, the other finalists (Cast Away, Dinosaur & X-Men) even the finalists that didn’t make the list (The Cell, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon & Titan A.E.) have held up so much better over time.
2. King Kong (1978): Okay, when even effects pros reject this movie as being an undeserving winner (why it had to tie with Logan’s Run, I’ll never understand), the terrible compositing, the unconvincing guy in a monkey suit, everything about this movie screams campiness on an epic scale.
3. Cocoon: Okay, so they had the whole shedding of the skin with the glowing people underneath, but they have definitely not held up well over time and actually look really bad today. In a year where the other nominees were Young Sherlock Holmes and Return to Oz, which required so much more complex effects, and other nominees that could have been Fright Night, Back to the Future and (the really underrated) Explorers, it was a wasted award that year.
4. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Okay, we have a couple of scenes with Brad Pitt being the old guy, then the rest are just effects. The boat scenes looked too obvious, then what else was really there? I’d have voted for The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Cloverfield, Hellboy II, Incredible Hulk, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian or The Incredible Hulk over Benjamin Button.
5. Innerspace: Okay, I like the movie, it’s very cute for it’s time, but every time I watch it, I can’t help but think, where are the effects? I mean, sure the inner body model work is more impressive than Fantastic Voyage’s, but when you consider this was the year it won over the only other nominee (Predator) and other more deserving nominees like RoboCop, Batteries not Included, even A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 had more impressive effects.
(Ironically, as I’m writing this, I’m seeing Escape from L.A. for the first time, which arguably has some of the worst effects I’ve ever seen in a movie. Talk about effects that haven’t held up well over time.)
March 4th, 2010 - 22:27
This category is pretty easy to predict this year and most of the past ones and the favorite winners are going to repeat a lot as are the least winners. Apart from the fact that there hasn’t been many awards.
Avatar will win
My favorite winners
Lord of the Rings Trilogy (I’m never tired of saying this: Thank You Peter Jackson)
The Matrix (The new era of the 2000s)
Titanic
Jurassic Park (Even now the dinosaurs look real)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (The new era of the 90s)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Star Wars (Obviously)
2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick is a god, I’ve said that before)
And after Avatar wins, it will be in my favorite winners. Mr. James Cameron is a master at revolutionary special effects.
My least favorite winners
The Golden Compass (A bear?, that’s it?, This is an awful movie of a great book. 2007 was a bad year for this category)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (With Superman “Gay” Returns and Poseidon “sucks” in the competition, I actually forgive the oscars for giving this award to the least bad. ANother bad year)
Gladiator (What the hell?)
Babe (as Mr. Wes Huizar. I loooveeed this movie. But I believe the oscars gave the award to this one because they never showed how the special effects were made)
Death Becomes Her (I’ve never been much in love with the movie and special effects. I believe Bram’s Stoker’s Dracula had the best and last “old school” special effects)
Alien (This is one of the greatest horror films of all time, but I never understood what the special effects were, apart from the space stuff. The Alien is a guy in a suit with lost of water and drool)
March 4th, 2010 - 19:26
I had never heard of “What Dreams May Come.” Or maybe I expunged it from my memory. In any event, looked it up on Wikipedia. Oh my God, what an awful sounding movie:
“Soulmates Chris (Robin Williams) and Annie (Annabella Sciorra) have an idyllic marriage together. However, following the death of their two children in a car accident, Annie becomes isolated and mentally unstable from guilt, and is institutionalized. After four years, the couple reconciles, but on the anniversary of the event Chris is killed in a car accident, finding himself in a Heaven derived from his wife’s paintings.
Despite the paradise he now inhabits, Chris is unhappy without Annie. When she commits suicide in guilt over Chris’ death, the act consigns her to Hell. Determined that they belong together, Chris commences a quest through Hell to rescue her, in the process discovering a number of characters from his past.”
March 4th, 2010 - 18:55
Favorite Winners:
1. Star Wars (what can I say….cinema revolution)
2. Jurassic Park (its still blows you away)
3. E.T. (the best example how an artificial character can bring real emotions)
4. Terminator 2 (another revolution)
5. The Ten Commandments ( I am always impressed)
6. Forrest Gump (perfectly supporting the extraordinary story….the missing legs of Gary Sinise, tom hanks shaking hands with jfk, or just a simple ping pong ball….brilliant!!!)
Least Favorite
1. Cocoon ( the number of effects was winning that year….young sherlock holmes had less effects, but by far the mor revolutionary…just think about the animated knight jumping out of the window)
2. Gladiator (ok they created an ancient city with the computer…but you can find this in many other movies)
3. The Golden Compass ( the most shocking moment to me….I don´t know what happened)
4.King Kong (1978!!) (I always found the effects a bit ridiculous)
5. Babe (what effects?)